Mattie Ross interview

1
Interview with Mattie Ross
Date of Interview : November 12, 1980 ; at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Goldsby Ross , Gee ' s Bend. Alabama
Interviewer : Kathryn Tucker Windham
Transcriber : Edna O. Me ek
Begin Side 1 , Tape 1
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
You were born down here , weren ' t you ?
Yes , ma ' am , right o ver there .
that pecan tree i s? House was
where I was bo r n . Sho t was.
You see
sittin '
And your parents were named what?
where
there ,
My mama was named Polly and my daddy was named
Albert . He was Alber t Clark . His mama died
and his papa married a lady by the name of
Josephine Pettway . Then he signed his name
Pettway , just like her . They had a good
bunch of children . I said that wr ong . His
mama , she married . The man she was mar ried to ,
he had a good bunch of children . They all
grow there together like sisters and brothers .
He changed his name to Pettway, too . He was
Albert Clark . He just signed his name Pett­way.
after his mama was married to a Pettway .
So he just took his step- father ' s name , did
he ?
Right .
And then you were named Pettway?
Yes , I was a Pettway when I was growed up.
Then I become a Ross . In fact , I was married
to a Ross .
He didn ' t grow up down here , did he ?
No , he grow up somewhere around Annie Manie ;
somewhere in there .
And you remember when they came in and built
all these houses. That ' s what we were talking
about earlier .
Yes , ma'am. They come down here and start
building houses.
And you were not married to Deacon Ross then .
were you?
No , ma ' am .
Weren ' t you married to Clint O. Pettway?
Yes.
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
Now, is he the one that had that fine voice?
People said they could hear him sing so far?
Yes , that ' s the one . Could hear him sing .
Sho T was.
And where were y ' all living when you married ?
When you married him?
When I married him , we lived over there where
Miss 1udie lives at . 'Way up from the school .
That's where we were living at then. After
a -while , we moved here and we been livin '
he r e ever since.
Now . what kind of house were you living in when
you first married?
Pole house. One room pole house.
One room . Made out of pine . or what kind of
wood ?
Yes l m. Pine. Pine poles.
Pine poles.
or how ' d you
you know?
Were
hold
the ends cut to f it together
those poles together , do
I don ' t hardly know about that . I think they
cut gashes in ' em to hold ' em together .
And what kind of heat d i d you have in that
hou se ?
Wood. Wood heat.
Firepla c e ?
Right .
Did you have one of those chimneys made out
of s t icks and mud ?
Made out of sticks and mud and dirt and things.
Sho ' was.
And did your house have a floor in it , or
was it • • • ����� • ?
Yeah , it had a floor in it.
A plank floor?
Plank floo r. Cracks you could put your
fingers through in some places .
The wind could come up through there on a
cold night , couldn ' t it ?
The wind did
nights , too.
come up through
Sho ' did.
there on cold
KT;/ :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
3
And you were living in that house then , back
during the depression times?
Sho I was .
Well , were you one of the families that Mr .
Rentz came over , or his widow did , and took
everything away?
That wasn ' t me .
Y' al1 were not in it?
No 1m.
But you knew hard times anyhow . didn't you?
cooh, yes , ma ' am .
ma ' am . I had them
no chillun .
Hard times I
in my life .
Well , was he farming down here?
know .
Didn ' t
Yes ,
have
Yes , ma ' am. He was farmin~. Shot did farm .
But had some poor crop years , didn ' t you?
Yes l m. Some years would be real lean . Some
years we ld do pretty good . Wasn't nobody but
just me and him to work together . He ' d have
a big crop. All the people then didn ' t have
no allowance for no land . You could get as
much land as you want . anywhere you want . And.
too, if you had big families , you get a lot
of land . He did . too . He ' d get a lot .
And then you had to do all the work?
We had to do a lot of hard work . The chillun
of the people who live close , they get their
crops in and we axed and they come help me
haul the cotton or the corn or somethin ' like
that.
He was a big man , wasn ' t he?
Right . and he didn ' t mind work. either. Smart
man . Sho ' was.
Somebody told me about how he loved to sing
at church and about what big feet he had , and
how he would pat his feet in time to the music .
You remember?
Yeadh . he sho T loved to sing. Did a lot of
church work , too.
Well , do you remember when they came down
here and began to talk about building the
new houses ?
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
4
Sho t do. I sho t didn ' t know I ' d live to live
in narn. I didn ' t think I ' d live to live in
them houses when they come here talkin ' about
' em. Said I ' d be dead , rotten and forgotten.
But the Lord let me stay here . Let me stay
here this long .
Do you remember those men from Washington vho
came down here and talked about the houses ?
Uh , huh . Mr • . • ••• Now good as I know one or
two of those peoples names , good , I can ' t
think .
Was one of them named Dr . Will Alexander?
Dr. Alexander and Mr. HUdgens.
I don ' t know who else came from Washington.
Just one or two more come .
Where did y ' a11 meet . Mrs. Ross , when they ' d
come from Washington?
We ' d meet sometimes at the church , sometimes
at different ones ' houses.
Well , what they were telling you was mos t too
good to be true , wasn ' t it ?
It was true , all right. We were to took
advantage of it when they leave here tellin '
us. It was true. ' Cause , like they told us ,
a lot of things they told us sho ' done come
to pass. Like they told us . Like we thought
it wasn ' t the truth , but it sho ' the truth.
Well , let ' s see •• your husband ' s name was
Clint 0., wasn ' t it?
That ' s right .
Did Clint O. help to build any of these
houses ?
Yeah. he helped , he helped what he could do.
Didn ' t have the carpenters , you know. Had a
lot of people workin ' on it . People here
worked , worked accordin ' to what sort of
work they could do. Clint worked , sho ' did .
And did they build your new house close to
where your old house was ?
Built it directly right back of myoId house .
Right here . step off the back door on the steps .
And then . what did they do with the old house
after the new one?
They tore the old house down . They tell me
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
5
they sub- floored churches and different
things wi th the old lumber. Sub- floored .':()
some things. The other, I reckon they j ust
carried it off and burnt it up .
' Cause those poles weren ' t much good for an~
thing , were they ?
Na I rn , they weren ' t . They ' re wore Qut , I
imagine rotten already .
When you moved in that new house , do you
remember how you felt?
Oooh , good. Felt good. And you know what I
did? Me and my husband had one of my nephews,
my brother ' s little boy, here with me, and
another girl, and I said , lINow , we gain I
get everything nasty where we stayed in the
house , us gonna clean up . Us gonna take a tath
and clean up , gain I in the new house clean. 1I
Carried everything , I had done washed up
everything around here I thought around here
was dirty. I don ' t never keep no dirty
quil t , noway. Spring comes , I washes them up'.
I . done washed up everything , mattresses, '
Got my beds down , cleaned them all up , scrubbed
them all and just washed and done a heap of
things just to move in my new house , ' cause
I didn ' t want my new house to get kinda nasty
too quick . After we got .in , we all right.
Felt good in it.
We thank the Lord for the best, ' cause we
feel like that what it was. He give us the
best when He give us these new houses. Every ­thing
we could use, the houses , and smokehouses ,
chicken houses ancl t'Oil!'lt , barn and all like
that . Something you could put the stuff in
when you make it. When I was livin ' over
yonder where Ludie livin ' now, had a one room
house. I had to cook in there , sleep in there .
And when my husband ginned , he bring some
seeds home and pile them up in one corner of
the house. In the house, where we livin ' in.
That was a long ways to come , wasn ' t it?
It sho T was. I ain ' t never thought I ' d be
able to get where I ' m at. I ain ' t nowhere much
now , but where I was at , I ain ' t never thought
I ' d get this kinda aid. And along then I
was young and r didn ' t mind keepin ' house .
r kept my house kinda spotless , every thin ' as
far as I COUld. But now , I can ' t keep house
like I used to.
Well , it looks mighty good to me.
Well , thank you , but it don ' t look good to me.
I don ' t never worry about straightenin ' up
like I used to did. Did a lot of straightenin'
up, cleanin ' up , every thin ' up.
KTW :
M. Ross !
KTW :
M. Ross !
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
6
Well . is anything down
tpe way it used to be?
it?
here
The
in Gee I s Bend
way you remember
Is anythin ' down here the way it used to be?
Lemme see . They don ' t farm like they used to
with the mules and horses and things . Got
more cows than you used to had back yonder.
just a few folks had milk cows like they
did •• and what else •••
What about the church? Is it the way it used
to be?
The church goin ' on like it used to did . But
the church always is , since I been big enough
to know it. We have services the first Sunday
night , and second Sunday . And the third
Sunday night you have service again , and have
two days in the month for services and two
nights . Now it doin ' that still . Onliest
t hing I know still tryin ' to hold up what it
used to do . They still have thei r services ,
and now , here of late some years back , the
Home Mission . We have a Home Mission , and
they axed for a Sunday to have it , and we have
a monthly meetin ' on the third Sunday . That ' s
it, three or four Sundays we have services
in the church .
Now, do you still sing the same songs in your
church you used to sing , or has that changed?
That ' s changed some . They call ' em new songs,
but they ' re old . They got ' em changed around,
turned different ways . We sing them . And
old Dr. Watts, every now and then , we get
hold of one of them . Don ' t sing them so
regular. I love them. Don ' t hardly ever hear
Dr . Watts sing . Now and then we sing one or
two.
You still have the custom , though , of having
visions before you take somebody into the
church?
Yes , ma ' am . We still have that .
But is it the same as it was when you were
growing up?
Well , I couldn ' t say it the same , ' cause the
same people ain ' t about one another. They
still have the ways of takin ' candidates in
the church . When they take you in the church .
they don ' t just get up and give the preacher
your hand and go sit you down in a chair and
join the church. They don ' t do that . You
gotta pray and get you somethin ' to join the
church with. When Jesus come along , He had
to pray . We all got to pray .
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Rass :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M • • Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW:
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
7
Now, do they call that seeking?
Yes , seekin ' for religion.
And do they often go off by themselves to
do this praying ?
I imagine so . That ' s the way I do it when I
was doing mine .
How old were you when you were dOing yours ?
Well , I r eckon I was about eighteen or ninete~
or twenty years old , I reckon .
And was it during the summer time when you
were having a revival meeting at the church?
Yes 1m.
And who was the pastor down here then?
Rev . Todd . Call him J. D. Todd .
I don ' t t hink I ' ve hea r d anybody talk about
him . He was here a while ago , wasn ' t he?
A good while ago , he was pastor in the church .
This was the Pleasant Grove Church. wasnit it?
Pleasant Gro ve Baptist Church .
But it was located down here close to wher e the
school is ?
Ri ght .
Before they moved it up here ?
Right .
Do you remember what kind of vision you had?
What kind of vision I had? When I wa s seekin '
my soul ? I sho ' remember it , some of it .
Sho ' do .
Did you tell them in the church .
Yes , I told 1 em.
Somebody told me that those vi sions often deal
with death, wi th seeing something dying and
then come back to life. Is that .. • .. ?
They all deal with death?
Yes , you see something die and then come to
life again. Did you have anything like that?
When I wa s seekin ' my soul, I j ust prayed har d
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW
M. Ross :
8
for the Lord to forgive me for my sins. If
you are not forgiven f or your s i ns. you won't .• _
I don ' t know whether you could get in touch
with the Lord or no . Because you got to ask
the Lord to forgive you for your many sins
and free your soul from hell . See , our soul
is doomed until we get our souls freed from
hell . After we get . ••• people get twelve years
old , sin falls on them , and up until then your
sins on your parents. So my sins was on me .
and I prayed for the Lord to take my sins off
me and give me that relief and save me when I
come to die. And I prayed , and prayed and
prayed hard before I could , you know, get that
prayer answered . And I asked the Lord .•. !
was thinkin ' about that the other day. settin '
right here , thinkin ' about how I asked the Lord
to free my soul ~ and give me that religion to
save my soul when I come unto Him.
(Conversation about sewing and lost needle.)
I have heard some people tell about when they
were seeking for salvation , they would see what
looked like themselves on a big spider web.
or a big bridge . or something . trying to cross
over the fires of hell . Did you have any
such thing as that?
We all don ' t have to have the same kind of
thing. When I was seekin ' my soul . I prayed a
long time. I prayed hard, too . and I asked the
Lord • •• I went ' way out yonder and got me a
prayin ' ground so I wouldn ' t have to bother
with nothin ', to get me that religion to save
me when I come to die . I lay my head, I lay au t
there on my back . lookin ' up in the sky. There
were some clouds up there . some small pieces up
there. I said , "Lord . if You gain ' give me
religion to save me when I come to die , let
that part of the cloud go out to nothin ' . " It
went to drop . like when they get ready to
thunder , get thick ; that cloud drapped like
that and went clean out to nothin '. I said , tiNa ,
He was gain ' to do that anyhow." That was a
kinda small piece. After a - while ~ I said , "Lord .
you gain ' give me religion to save my soul
when I come to die , lemme see that big spot
of cloud vanish away out to nothin ' . " That
spot of cloud did like this , that big spot
went out to nothin '.
Just disappeared?
Thank you , Jesus. I got so happy. look like
then , I was out there in the woods by myself .
I sat down on the end of a log and scratched my
legs real bad . I say that ' s the last day
I 'm gonna pray . I say I done prayed so long
and so hard and so much , I ' m just gain ' give
up and stop prayin I. Ain ' t gonna pray no rna reo
So I prayed and prayed and prayed that day.
Comin ' home , after it got night , my husband
had gone to church.
(End Side 1 , Begin Side 2)
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
9
Didn't go to church early like they do now.
When I got home , my husband gone . I just fell
right ' cross the bed and I said, IILard , I
ain ' t gain .' pray narn ' nother prayer . If you
gain ' give me r eligion , gain ' to save me ,
Jesus , meet me at the chu r ch doo r tonight . '1
I started not to go to church . I j ust lay
still and I talked to the Lord. Then I got
up and said I was gain ' to the church . Church
right there . in front of my door . I got up
and went to moping , moping on to the church,
and when I got up on the church bottom step ,
the Mother was camin ' to the top. Lord have
me rcy. she gr abbed me and hugged me j I grabbed
her. the Mother of the church •••• Ooh. I fell on
this arm night before last, and it hurt me
so bad I don ' t know what t o d0 . I ' m so glad
I didn ' t break my a rm.
So , I got religion
love my religion .
it.
that year . I
Wouldn ' t take
love it. I
nothin ' for
Who was the Mother of the church then ?
Mother Cinda . You know Rev. Roman before he
di ed , didn ' t you? His mama , and a lady named
Bessie and a lady named Ari e .
Now, that ' s not the same Arie that ' s still
l iving . That's her mother, wasn ' t it?
Uh , uh . That wasn ' t her mama , that warn ' t none
of her . That was somebody else . Tryin ' to
think who else . Look like there was another
one .
Well , when she looked at you , she knew that
something had happened to you , didn 't she?
When she looked at me? When I grabbed her, she
knowed something had happened . I couldn ' t help
it . No , Lord . In my prayin ', seekin '
religion , the Lord show you what He have for
you to do . I had a long string of chillun
and grown folks . I had to carry them ' way
to a big place , ' way back in there . A house .
I had to feed them chillun , and put them
chill un to bed , and the old folks come there
right behind me , and then chillun . Come in
there singing to the tip of their voices .
They was singing , too . I said , "Lord , I got
all this work to do , and ain ' t got nobody to help
me . II I fed those chill un and got them all
fixed up and put them to bed . And where
them old folks got in there , there was a big
crowd of them . Had room in the house for
them. And I put them , I said , "Now, y ' all
just got to sleep the best y ' all could. "
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
10
I got all them folks in the bed , to o . I I rn
tellin I you . When I did come through with
the religion ~ people tell me that I had a lot
of work in the church to do . All those
people I was workin ' with in my rest , that ' s
what I had to do in the church .
Work with the children? And with the grown
folks?
Work with the chill un ahd the grown folks ,
too . And you know what I done ? They got me
over the river here some years ago . The Presi­dent
of the Women ' s Convention. That thing
just tore me up. I looked ' way back to when I
was seekin ' my soul , cryin' for what I believed.
The Lord let me head up a Convention . You
see , this was God ' s plan .
That ' s right . and He showed it to you, but you
didn ' t know what He was showing .
I didn ' t know what in the world that was . All
those people, chillun and grown folks , I had
to give an account of it . Had to work with
them. That ' s right, and I look back sometime .
You know, the Lord has things for you to do , if
you stick up to Him and do what He have for
you to do . If you don ' t stick up to Him , you
don ' t ever know what He have for you to do.
I never had no dream I ' d live to get twenty
years old . I used to be so sickly- sided ,
and He got me here yet. And when He converted
me , He ain ' t converted me with no coward's
spirit . He sho t didn ' t . I stand up for Him
and speak up for Him anywhere I go along ,
' cause I know what He have done for me .
And gives you strength, doesn ' t He?
Right , right. He done been a doctor for me
so many million times . And when I go to work
and try to do things in the church now------­You
know I took some medicine and it got my
mouth so dry I can ' t hardly talk- ----- when
people speak against me when I want to try to
get somethin ' over in the church with peoples ,
or with chillun , the grown folks will speak
up against it , they won't speak up for it .
I used to work with chillun a whole lot since
I been in this church, but these later chillun
and folks, they don ' t care I .bou t no thin I. And
so I tries to stick up for my religion , try
to pray and try to do the best I could for
the Lord . ' Cause I know the Lord did do
something for me .
We had that August freshet one year. That
back water come and destroy every thin ' the
peoples had. We had a lot of little chillun
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
11
around here , I didn ' t have none , but I feel
like I ought to had some. August freshet
come through here and destroyed e \8rythin '.
Peoples had a good crop. and it destroyed
everythin '. And that freshet come that year
in July and it destroyed every thin ', all them
good crops people had .
Just washed them away ?
Just washed them away . And that what didn ' t
wash away, when that water come over it. it
wasn I t fit for no thin I. I Cause my husband
done went down there and pulled some corn
after that water been over it , to feed the co~
and mules . It soon soured , though . And that
thing bothered me so bad , Mrs . Windham. I
tell you the truth , I hurt , I just really
hurt over it . All those good crops the peoples
had in the fields , and things to live off .
And along then , folks they make their living .
Yes , ma ' am . They make their living .
And I couldn ' t be satisfied . I don ' t care
whe r e I went , I worried, worried about those
crops all gone . I just worried and worried
and worried . I couldn ' t be satisfied to save
my life . I lay down this head , and I couldn ' t
do nothin ' bu t worry to dea th . And so , I
layin ' up t here and the Man come to me , stood
up and looked down on me just like this , and
called me three times . I looked up , He said ,
holding one hand up and one hand down , nAIl the
power of Heaven and earth is in My hands. "
I said , nYeah , God . n I woke up the next mornin '
just as satisfied , and I ain ' t worried another
minute. He let me know He had the power to
f eed the folks. Bu t I di dn ' t know no thin ' a bou t
how it was gain ' to be , how the folks were gain '
to do , because so many little chillun to be
fed. And my heart just go out to people.
And when the Lord told me t hat t hat night , I
ain ' t worried no more , and the folks lived that
winter.
Made it somehow , didn 't they?
Yes , sir, the Lord satisfied my soul . I was
just worried to death atfmut it . The peoples '
chillun , and their crops and things gone
under and no way t o feed all these chillun .
You know, He got the power, He can do what He
wants . He destroyed the stuff with His water .
He had a way to take care of the peoples , and
He did .
Was that the time the Red Cross sent some
food in here , or was that another time ?
That was the one . I don ' t know what year it
was now, ' cause I know it was August. I
don ' t know what year it was , but I do know
we had fine crops in the fields that year and
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
1 2
and the water come. Me and my husband bad
been down there, and a li ttle girl . I reckon
we were down there Saturday with the wagon
and pillcked a wagon load of peas . We come
out Saturday even in I 1 and was gain ' back
Monday marnin ' and gain ' to carry some hands
down there to help us pick all them peas.
It was so bright and pretty . And Monday
marnin ' it was covered with water.
Well , it came up in a hurry then , didn ' t it?
It was runnin.g water. My husband went down
this a - way to the swamp to get some corn in
the wagon , and when he come back he had to ford
it .
That qUick?
That quick. Just runnin ' water. I ain ' t never
seen water run up like that before . I see
something in my sleep the other night, running
up like t hat .
You still dream about it then , don l t you?
I don l t know what I was dreamin l about it
for , but I see some water in my sleep the other
night . It was j ust running , it had come clean
to that corner, right there . I tell you , thats
trouble .
But you haven ' t had any water like that down
here since they built the dam, have you?
No , we ain l t had nary big one like we used to
have . I don l t think we have . No , I don l t
think we l ve had as big a water as we used to
have. It cut out some of that.
It t ook some of your good land, though,
didn l tit?
Sho r did. I mean some of our good land, too.
Took the good land on the river.
That good , rich land down there.
cross on that ferry they used to
at the river?
Did you
have down ther e
Sho I did . don I t know how many times . I pay
my money and get on that wide place. It
wasn l t wide as this room. It was just wide
enough for a wagon to go on and then the
peoples, too. I crossed on that many a time .
That wasn ' t scary?
Bit no more scary than is standin l up here
in this house. But dangerous , too , but I
wasnlt scared of it. How come I didn l t have
enough sense to get scared of it?
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
13
Well , that was a big thing to get to go over
to Camden , wasn ' t it?
Right , after so much need . The way we got to
go now, it was much needed .
You co uld get there a whole lot quicker.
couldn I t you?
That ' s right . It was seven miles .
You remember , then, when Edgar Mooney was
running the ferry, don ' t you?
Right .
You remember then before him , don ' t you ?
Sho '. Remember when Deaf Doc used to run it.
Now, is he the one that drowned?
Right . . He the one got drowned .
Did he falloff that ferry?
I don I t know if he fell off the thing or how
it happened . \<le just heared he had done fell
overboard and drowned.
Poor thing , and he couldn ' t even holler for
help , could he ?
Man , he couldn ' t down there in all that water.
Well ~ could he make any sounds? Could he talk?
He could talk .
Deaf Doc. Yes , I ' ve heard about him . Is he
the one they used some fodder to find where his
body was? Didn ' t they have trouble getting
his body out?
I guess they had to do something like that to
find him. It been so long I done forgot all
about it . They found him someway . I guess
they found him with the fodder.
And that really does work , doesn ' t it?
Right .
Lots of folks don ' t believe that ~ but I ' ve
known it to work. Too many times . But I
don ' t understand it, do you?
I don ' t either . How that fodder know where
to go? They say when that fodder get where
that person at, it gonna stop , go to turnin '
around or something.
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
14
Like a whirlpool.
Right.
Well , back to when you were joining the church.
Did they have the baptizing then down there
in the creek , where they have it now?
No , ma ' am . They had the baptizing down there
in a branch, on the school grounds over there .
A branch was down there and a hole in the
branch. and they baptized in it .
Well , that was much more convenient than going
further off , wasn ' t it?
It was . Now folks can stand around the creek
and see peoples good . When all us go down
there . we couldn ' t see , at that old one .
Well , that ' s a pretty place in the creek where
they baptize now . That bend in the creek .
that ' s just beautiful .
I like the way they got that place done . At
the pool . you can ' t see nobody get baptized in
a pool but just a few folks .
I don ' t guess more than a dozen can really see
good . Two dozen , maybe .
Some of ' em go up the trees . The chillun go
up the trees. You can go on both sides of the
creek and see pretty good down there.
Get up on that high bluff and you can see real
good .
Sho t can.
And they sing so pretty when the service is
going on down there.
That gain' on like it used to. The old way .
They doin ' it now .
Quilting is going on like the old way, except
you can get better stuff to put in your qui I ts,
don ' t you?
Quiltin ' goin ' on like it used to be in one
way . You used to could put up a quilt and
get a lot of people to help you qui I t. But
they don ' t do that no more .
You could just send out the word you wanted to
quilt , and somebody would come help you?
After you send word to them to come help you
quil t, they ' d come help you. You can send word.
now all you want. Everybody busy .
KTVI :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KT1, :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
1 5
And I ' m not sure what we ' re so busy doing .
are you ?
I tell you , I can ' t see it . Just busy .
Ain I t got time. I got some to be quilted right
now, but .! ain ' t able to quilt.
Who quilts down here in the homes ?
go up to the Freedom Quilt ing Bee ,
Most of the m
don ' t they?
Some work up there.
there , but they make
They make
their own
qUilts
quil ts
up
at home.
Ha ve you got quilting frames?
I got quiltin ' frames. Sha ' is.
Did they belong to your mother, or are these
yours?
Belongs to me. My husband got them from the
mill for me.
Dr . Pierce , who was the principal of the
school , did you know him?
Sho ' was. Knowed Mr . Pierce real well .
I believe he was the first principal . wasn't
he ? After they built that new school here :
We had a man teaching school before then , but
he wasn ' t to say principal. Mr. Ernest Hale ,
from Snow Hill , he taught school here quite a
while.
He was teaching in the church, wasn ' t he ?
Yeah. he was teaching in the church, and that
old house on the road up there. Look like
it was to r e down . I think he used to work in
that . He didn 't have but just a few chillun.
Chillun was kinda scace in them times. Like
they fan out and go to different schools .
Now, his name was Ernest Hale?
Ernest Hale.
Did you go to school to him ?
No , I was married. He was boarding here with
me.
Well , wh ere did you go to school?
I didn ' t . What little gain ' to school I did ,
I didn ' t do much of it .
Didn ' t have much chance back t hen to do much.
did you ?
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
16
Sho t didn ' t . About this time of year the
only thing was ga t hering crops , digging
sweet potatoes and scratching peanuts . Get
a chance to go to school a little bit before
Christmas .
There wasn ' t anybody else to do the work on
the farm , was there?
Everybody had a farm . had to work . I think
school used to close in February or March one .
We be busy knockin ' stalks , cleanin ' up that
swamp, gettin ' ready to plant somethin ' else .
Did you ever know Mr . VandeGraaff?
I know him .
Were you living on his land? Was it his place
you were on?
Well , the whole place was said to be VandeGraaff .
Didn ' t have the land cut up then. Had the land
cup up after then . .
Well , he lost all the money he ever had down
here . didn ' t he?
I don ' t know whether he lost it or no .
I think he did . You remember that big house ,
Sandy Hill , don ' t you ?
Sho ' do . Sho ' remember .
And that ' s where his overseer lived, I believe,
wasn ' t it?
That ' s right . John Henry . John Henry Miller.
One of them overseers back yonder.
Is that where they had the mule lot and kept
all the mules around there .
Yes.
(End Side 2, Tape 1)

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

This material may be protected under Title 17 of the U. S. Copyright Law which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research.

Holding.Institution

Birmingham Public Library (Alabama)

Full Text

1
Interview with Mattie Ross
Date of Interview : November 12, 1980 ; at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Goldsby Ross , Gee ' s Bend. Alabama
Interviewer : Kathryn Tucker Windham
Transcriber : Edna O. Me ek
Begin Side 1 , Tape 1
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
You were born down here , weren ' t you ?
Yes , ma ' am , right o ver there .
that pecan tree i s? House was
where I was bo r n . Sho t was.
You see
sittin '
And your parents were named what?
where
there ,
My mama was named Polly and my daddy was named
Albert . He was Alber t Clark . His mama died
and his papa married a lady by the name of
Josephine Pettway . Then he signed his name
Pettway , just like her . They had a good
bunch of children . I said that wr ong . His
mama , she married . The man she was mar ried to ,
he had a good bunch of children . They all
grow there together like sisters and brothers .
He changed his name to Pettway, too . He was
Albert Clark . He just signed his name Pett­way.
after his mama was married to a Pettway .
So he just took his step- father ' s name , did
he ?
Right .
And then you were named Pettway?
Yes , I was a Pettway when I was growed up.
Then I become a Ross . In fact , I was married
to a Ross .
He didn ' t grow up down here , did he ?
No , he grow up somewhere around Annie Manie ;
somewhere in there .
And you remember when they came in and built
all these houses. That ' s what we were talking
about earlier .
Yes , ma'am. They come down here and start
building houses.
And you were not married to Deacon Ross then .
were you?
No , ma ' am .
Weren ' t you married to Clint O. Pettway?
Yes.
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
Now, is he the one that had that fine voice?
People said they could hear him sing so far?
Yes , that ' s the one . Could hear him sing .
Sho T was.
And where were y ' all living when you married ?
When you married him?
When I married him , we lived over there where
Miss 1udie lives at . 'Way up from the school .
That's where we were living at then. After
a -while , we moved here and we been livin '
he r e ever since.
Now . what kind of house were you living in when
you first married?
Pole house. One room pole house.
One room . Made out of pine . or what kind of
wood ?
Yes l m. Pine. Pine poles.
Pine poles.
or how ' d you
you know?
Were
hold
the ends cut to f it together
those poles together , do
I don ' t hardly know about that . I think they
cut gashes in ' em to hold ' em together .
And what kind of heat d i d you have in that
hou se ?
Wood. Wood heat.
Firepla c e ?
Right .
Did you have one of those chimneys made out
of s t icks and mud ?
Made out of sticks and mud and dirt and things.
Sho ' was.
And did your house have a floor in it , or
was it • • • ����� • ?
Yeah , it had a floor in it.
A plank floor?
Plank floo r. Cracks you could put your
fingers through in some places .
The wind could come up through there on a
cold night , couldn ' t it ?
The wind did
nights , too.
come up through
Sho ' did.
there on cold
KT;/ :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
3
And you were living in that house then , back
during the depression times?
Sho I was .
Well , were you one of the families that Mr .
Rentz came over , or his widow did , and took
everything away?
That wasn ' t me .
Y' al1 were not in it?
No 1m.
But you knew hard times anyhow . didn't you?
cooh, yes , ma ' am .
ma ' am . I had them
no chillun .
Hard times I
in my life .
Well , was he farming down here?
know .
Didn ' t
Yes ,
have
Yes , ma ' am. He was farmin~. Shot did farm .
But had some poor crop years , didn ' t you?
Yes l m. Some years would be real lean . Some
years we ld do pretty good . Wasn't nobody but
just me and him to work together . He ' d have
a big crop. All the people then didn ' t have
no allowance for no land . You could get as
much land as you want . anywhere you want . And.
too, if you had big families , you get a lot
of land . He did . too . He ' d get a lot .
And then you had to do all the work?
We had to do a lot of hard work . The chillun
of the people who live close , they get their
crops in and we axed and they come help me
haul the cotton or the corn or somethin ' like
that.
He was a big man , wasn ' t he?
Right . and he didn ' t mind work. either. Smart
man . Sho ' was.
Somebody told me about how he loved to sing
at church and about what big feet he had , and
how he would pat his feet in time to the music .
You remember?
Yeadh . he sho T loved to sing. Did a lot of
church work , too.
Well , do you remember when they came down
here and began to talk about building the
new houses ?
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
4
Sho t do. I sho t didn ' t know I ' d live to live
in narn. I didn ' t think I ' d live to live in
them houses when they come here talkin ' about
' em. Said I ' d be dead , rotten and forgotten.
But the Lord let me stay here . Let me stay
here this long .
Do you remember those men from Washington vho
came down here and talked about the houses ?
Uh , huh . Mr • . • ••• Now good as I know one or
two of those peoples names , good , I can ' t
think .
Was one of them named Dr . Will Alexander?
Dr. Alexander and Mr. HUdgens.
I don ' t know who else came from Washington.
Just one or two more come .
Where did y ' a11 meet . Mrs. Ross , when they ' d
come from Washington?
We ' d meet sometimes at the church , sometimes
at different ones ' houses.
Well , what they were telling you was mos t too
good to be true , wasn ' t it ?
It was true , all right. We were to took
advantage of it when they leave here tellin '
us. It was true. ' Cause , like they told us ,
a lot of things they told us sho ' done come
to pass. Like they told us . Like we thought
it wasn ' t the truth , but it sho ' the truth.
Well , let ' s see •• your husband ' s name was
Clint 0., wasn ' t it?
That ' s right .
Did Clint O. help to build any of these
houses ?
Yeah. he helped , he helped what he could do.
Didn ' t have the carpenters , you know. Had a
lot of people workin ' on it . People here
worked , worked accordin ' to what sort of
work they could do. Clint worked , sho ' did .
And did they build your new house close to
where your old house was ?
Built it directly right back of myoId house .
Right here . step off the back door on the steps .
And then . what did they do with the old house
after the new one?
They tore the old house down . They tell me
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
5
they sub- floored churches and different
things wi th the old lumber. Sub- floored .':()
some things. The other, I reckon they j ust
carried it off and burnt it up .
' Cause those poles weren ' t much good for an~
thing , were they ?
Na I rn , they weren ' t . They ' re wore Qut , I
imagine rotten already .
When you moved in that new house , do you
remember how you felt?
Oooh , good. Felt good. And you know what I
did? Me and my husband had one of my nephews,
my brother ' s little boy, here with me, and
another girl, and I said , lINow , we gain I
get everything nasty where we stayed in the
house , us gonna clean up . Us gonna take a tath
and clean up , gain I in the new house clean. 1I
Carried everything , I had done washed up
everything around here I thought around here
was dirty. I don ' t never keep no dirty
quil t , noway. Spring comes , I washes them up'.
I . done washed up everything , mattresses, '
Got my beds down , cleaned them all up , scrubbed
them all and just washed and done a heap of
things just to move in my new house , ' cause
I didn ' t want my new house to get kinda nasty
too quick . After we got .in , we all right.
Felt good in it.
We thank the Lord for the best, ' cause we
feel like that what it was. He give us the
best when He give us these new houses. Every ­thing
we could use, the houses , and smokehouses ,
chicken houses ancl t'Oil!'lt , barn and all like
that . Something you could put the stuff in
when you make it. When I was livin ' over
yonder where Ludie livin ' now, had a one room
house. I had to cook in there , sleep in there .
And when my husband ginned , he bring some
seeds home and pile them up in one corner of
the house. In the house, where we livin ' in.
That was a long ways to come , wasn ' t it?
It sho T was. I ain ' t never thought I ' d be
able to get where I ' m at. I ain ' t nowhere much
now , but where I was at , I ain ' t never thought
I ' d get this kinda aid. And along then I
was young and r didn ' t mind keepin ' house .
r kept my house kinda spotless , every thin ' as
far as I COUld. But now , I can ' t keep house
like I used to.
Well , it looks mighty good to me.
Well , thank you , but it don ' t look good to me.
I don ' t never worry about straightenin ' up
like I used to did. Did a lot of straightenin'
up, cleanin ' up , every thin ' up.
KTW :
M. Ross !
KTW :
M. Ross !
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
6
Well . is anything down
tpe way it used to be?
it?
here
The
in Gee I s Bend
way you remember
Is anythin ' down here the way it used to be?
Lemme see . They don ' t farm like they used to
with the mules and horses and things . Got
more cows than you used to had back yonder.
just a few folks had milk cows like they
did •• and what else •••
What about the church? Is it the way it used
to be?
The church goin ' on like it used to did . But
the church always is , since I been big enough
to know it. We have services the first Sunday
night , and second Sunday . And the third
Sunday night you have service again , and have
two days in the month for services and two
nights . Now it doin ' that still . Onliest
t hing I know still tryin ' to hold up what it
used to do . They still have thei r services ,
and now , here of late some years back , the
Home Mission . We have a Home Mission , and
they axed for a Sunday to have it , and we have
a monthly meetin ' on the third Sunday . That ' s
it, three or four Sundays we have services
in the church .
Now, do you still sing the same songs in your
church you used to sing , or has that changed?
That ' s changed some . They call ' em new songs,
but they ' re old . They got ' em changed around,
turned different ways . We sing them . And
old Dr. Watts, every now and then , we get
hold of one of them . Don ' t sing them so
regular. I love them. Don ' t hardly ever hear
Dr . Watts sing . Now and then we sing one or
two.
You still have the custom , though , of having
visions before you take somebody into the
church?
Yes , ma ' am . We still have that .
But is it the same as it was when you were
growing up?
Well , I couldn ' t say it the same , ' cause the
same people ain ' t about one another. They
still have the ways of takin ' candidates in
the church . When they take you in the church .
they don ' t just get up and give the preacher
your hand and go sit you down in a chair and
join the church. They don ' t do that . You
gotta pray and get you somethin ' to join the
church with. When Jesus come along , He had
to pray . We all got to pray .
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Rass :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M • • Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW:
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
7
Now, do they call that seeking?
Yes , seekin ' for religion.
And do they often go off by themselves to
do this praying ?
I imagine so . That ' s the way I do it when I
was doing mine .
How old were you when you were dOing yours ?
Well , I r eckon I was about eighteen or ninete~
or twenty years old , I reckon .
And was it during the summer time when you
were having a revival meeting at the church?
Yes 1m.
And who was the pastor down here then?
Rev . Todd . Call him J. D. Todd .
I don ' t t hink I ' ve hea r d anybody talk about
him . He was here a while ago , wasn ' t he?
A good while ago , he was pastor in the church .
This was the Pleasant Grove Church. wasnit it?
Pleasant Gro ve Baptist Church .
But it was located down here close to wher e the
school is ?
Ri ght .
Before they moved it up here ?
Right .
Do you remember what kind of vision you had?
What kind of vision I had? When I wa s seekin '
my soul ? I sho ' remember it , some of it .
Sho ' do .
Did you tell them in the church .
Yes , I told 1 em.
Somebody told me that those vi sions often deal
with death, wi th seeing something dying and
then come back to life. Is that .. • .. ?
They all deal with death?
Yes , you see something die and then come to
life again. Did you have anything like that?
When I wa s seekin ' my soul, I j ust prayed har d
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW
M. Ross :
8
for the Lord to forgive me for my sins. If
you are not forgiven f or your s i ns. you won't .• _
I don ' t know whether you could get in touch
with the Lord or no . Because you got to ask
the Lord to forgive you for your many sins
and free your soul from hell . See , our soul
is doomed until we get our souls freed from
hell . After we get . ••• people get twelve years
old , sin falls on them , and up until then your
sins on your parents. So my sins was on me .
and I prayed for the Lord to take my sins off
me and give me that relief and save me when I
come to die. And I prayed , and prayed and
prayed hard before I could , you know, get that
prayer answered . And I asked the Lord .•. !
was thinkin ' about that the other day. settin '
right here , thinkin ' about how I asked the Lord
to free my soul ~ and give me that religion to
save my soul when I come unto Him.
(Conversation about sewing and lost needle.)
I have heard some people tell about when they
were seeking for salvation , they would see what
looked like themselves on a big spider web.
or a big bridge . or something . trying to cross
over the fires of hell . Did you have any
such thing as that?
We all don ' t have to have the same kind of
thing. When I was seekin ' my soul . I prayed a
long time. I prayed hard, too . and I asked the
Lord • •• I went ' way out yonder and got me a
prayin ' ground so I wouldn ' t have to bother
with nothin ', to get me that religion to save
me when I come to die . I lay my head, I lay au t
there on my back . lookin ' up in the sky. There
were some clouds up there . some small pieces up
there. I said , "Lord . if You gain ' give me
religion to save me when I come to die , let
that part of the cloud go out to nothin ' . " It
went to drop . like when they get ready to
thunder , get thick ; that cloud drapped like
that and went clean out to nothin '. I said , tiNa ,
He was gain ' to do that anyhow." That was a
kinda small piece. After a - while ~ I said , "Lord .
you gain ' give me religion to save my soul
when I come to die , lemme see that big spot
of cloud vanish away out to nothin ' . " That
spot of cloud did like this , that big spot
went out to nothin '.
Just disappeared?
Thank you , Jesus. I got so happy. look like
then , I was out there in the woods by myself .
I sat down on the end of a log and scratched my
legs real bad . I say that ' s the last day
I 'm gonna pray . I say I done prayed so long
and so hard and so much , I ' m just gain ' give
up and stop prayin I. Ain ' t gonna pray no rna reo
So I prayed and prayed and prayed that day.
Comin ' home , after it got night , my husband
had gone to church.
(End Side 1 , Begin Side 2)
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
9
Didn't go to church early like they do now.
When I got home , my husband gone . I just fell
right ' cross the bed and I said, IILard , I
ain ' t gain .' pray narn ' nother prayer . If you
gain ' give me r eligion , gain ' to save me ,
Jesus , meet me at the chu r ch doo r tonight . '1
I started not to go to church . I j ust lay
still and I talked to the Lord. Then I got
up and said I was gain ' to the church . Church
right there . in front of my door . I got up
and went to moping , moping on to the church,
and when I got up on the church bottom step ,
the Mother was camin ' to the top. Lord have
me rcy. she gr abbed me and hugged me j I grabbed
her. the Mother of the church •••• Ooh. I fell on
this arm night before last, and it hurt me
so bad I don ' t know what t o d0 . I ' m so glad
I didn ' t break my a rm.
So , I got religion
love my religion .
it.
that year . I
Wouldn ' t take
love it. I
nothin ' for
Who was the Mother of the church then ?
Mother Cinda . You know Rev. Roman before he
di ed , didn ' t you? His mama , and a lady named
Bessie and a lady named Ari e .
Now, that ' s not the same Arie that ' s still
l iving . That's her mother, wasn ' t it?
Uh , uh . That wasn ' t her mama , that warn ' t none
of her . That was somebody else . Tryin ' to
think who else . Look like there was another
one .
Well , when she looked at you , she knew that
something had happened to you , didn 't she?
When she looked at me? When I grabbed her, she
knowed something had happened . I couldn ' t help
it . No , Lord . In my prayin ', seekin '
religion , the Lord show you what He have for
you to do . I had a long string of chillun
and grown folks . I had to carry them ' way
to a big place , ' way back in there . A house .
I had to feed them chillun , and put them
chill un to bed , and the old folks come there
right behind me , and then chillun . Come in
there singing to the tip of their voices .
They was singing , too . I said , "Lord , I got
all this work to do , and ain ' t got nobody to help
me . II I fed those chill un and got them all
fixed up and put them to bed . And where
them old folks got in there , there was a big
crowd of them . Had room in the house for
them. And I put them , I said , "Now, y ' all
just got to sleep the best y ' all could. "
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
10
I got all them folks in the bed , to o . I I rn
tellin I you . When I did come through with
the religion ~ people tell me that I had a lot
of work in the church to do . All those
people I was workin ' with in my rest , that ' s
what I had to do in the church .
Work with the children? And with the grown
folks?
Work with the chill un ahd the grown folks ,
too . And you know what I done ? They got me
over the river here some years ago . The Presi­dent
of the Women ' s Convention. That thing
just tore me up. I looked ' way back to when I
was seekin ' my soul , cryin' for what I believed.
The Lord let me head up a Convention . You
see , this was God ' s plan .
That ' s right . and He showed it to you, but you
didn ' t know what He was showing .
I didn ' t know what in the world that was . All
those people, chillun and grown folks , I had
to give an account of it . Had to work with
them. That ' s right, and I look back sometime .
You know, the Lord has things for you to do , if
you stick up to Him and do what He have for
you to do . If you don ' t stick up to Him , you
don ' t ever know what He have for you to do.
I never had no dream I ' d live to get twenty
years old . I used to be so sickly- sided ,
and He got me here yet. And when He converted
me , He ain ' t converted me with no coward's
spirit . He sho t didn ' t . I stand up for Him
and speak up for Him anywhere I go along ,
' cause I know what He have done for me .
And gives you strength, doesn ' t He?
Right , right. He done been a doctor for me
so many million times . And when I go to work
and try to do things in the church now------­You
know I took some medicine and it got my
mouth so dry I can ' t hardly talk- ----- when
people speak against me when I want to try to
get somethin ' over in the church with peoples ,
or with chillun , the grown folks will speak
up against it , they won't speak up for it .
I used to work with chillun a whole lot since
I been in this church, but these later chillun
and folks, they don ' t care I .bou t no thin I. And
so I tries to stick up for my religion , try
to pray and try to do the best I could for
the Lord . ' Cause I know the Lord did do
something for me .
We had that August freshet one year. That
back water come and destroy every thin ' the
peoples had. We had a lot of little chillun
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
11
around here , I didn ' t have none , but I feel
like I ought to had some. August freshet
come through here and destroyed e \8rythin '.
Peoples had a good crop. and it destroyed
everythin '. And that freshet come that year
in July and it destroyed every thin ', all them
good crops people had .
Just washed them away ?
Just washed them away . And that what didn ' t
wash away, when that water come over it. it
wasn I t fit for no thin I. I Cause my husband
done went down there and pulled some corn
after that water been over it , to feed the co~
and mules . It soon soured , though . And that
thing bothered me so bad , Mrs . Windham. I
tell you the truth , I hurt , I just really
hurt over it . All those good crops the peoples
had in the fields , and things to live off .
And along then , folks they make their living .
Yes , ma ' am . They make their living .
And I couldn ' t be satisfied . I don ' t care
whe r e I went , I worried, worried about those
crops all gone . I just worried and worried
and worried . I couldn ' t be satisfied to save
my life . I lay down this head , and I couldn ' t
do nothin ' bu t worry to dea th . And so , I
layin ' up t here and the Man come to me , stood
up and looked down on me just like this , and
called me three times . I looked up , He said ,
holding one hand up and one hand down , nAIl the
power of Heaven and earth is in My hands. "
I said , nYeah , God . n I woke up the next mornin '
just as satisfied , and I ain ' t worried another
minute. He let me know He had the power to
f eed the folks. Bu t I di dn ' t know no thin ' a bou t
how it was gain ' to be , how the folks were gain '
to do , because so many little chillun to be
fed. And my heart just go out to people.
And when the Lord told me t hat t hat night , I
ain ' t worried no more , and the folks lived that
winter.
Made it somehow , didn 't they?
Yes , sir, the Lord satisfied my soul . I was
just worried to death atfmut it . The peoples '
chillun , and their crops and things gone
under and no way t o feed all these chillun .
You know, He got the power, He can do what He
wants . He destroyed the stuff with His water .
He had a way to take care of the peoples , and
He did .
Was that the time the Red Cross sent some
food in here , or was that another time ?
That was the one . I don ' t know what year it
was now, ' cause I know it was August. I
don ' t know what year it was , but I do know
we had fine crops in the fields that year and
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
1 2
and the water come. Me and my husband bad
been down there, and a li ttle girl . I reckon
we were down there Saturday with the wagon
and pillcked a wagon load of peas . We come
out Saturday even in I 1 and was gain ' back
Monday marnin ' and gain ' to carry some hands
down there to help us pick all them peas.
It was so bright and pretty . And Monday
marnin ' it was covered with water.
Well , it came up in a hurry then , didn ' t it?
It was runnin.g water. My husband went down
this a - way to the swamp to get some corn in
the wagon , and when he come back he had to ford
it .
That qUick?
That quick. Just runnin ' water. I ain ' t never
seen water run up like that before . I see
something in my sleep the other night, running
up like t hat .
You still dream about it then , don l t you?
I don l t know what I was dreamin l about it
for , but I see some water in my sleep the other
night . It was j ust running , it had come clean
to that corner, right there . I tell you , thats
trouble .
But you haven ' t had any water like that down
here since they built the dam, have you?
No , we ain l t had nary big one like we used to
have . I don l t think we have . No , I don l t
think we l ve had as big a water as we used to
have. It cut out some of that.
It t ook some of your good land, though,
didn l tit?
Sho r did. I mean some of our good land, too.
Took the good land on the river.
That good , rich land down there.
cross on that ferry they used to
at the river?
Did you
have down ther e
Sho I did . don I t know how many times . I pay
my money and get on that wide place. It
wasn l t wide as this room. It was just wide
enough for a wagon to go on and then the
peoples, too. I crossed on that many a time .
That wasn ' t scary?
Bit no more scary than is standin l up here
in this house. But dangerous , too , but I
wasnlt scared of it. How come I didn l t have
enough sense to get scared of it?
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
KTW :
M. Ross :
13
Well , that was a big thing to get to go over
to Camden , wasn ' t it?
Right , after so much need . The way we got to
go now, it was much needed .
You co uld get there a whole lot quicker.
couldn I t you?
That ' s right . It was seven miles .
You remember , then, when Edgar Mooney was
running the ferry, don ' t you?
Right .
You remember then before him , don ' t you ?
Sho '. Remember when Deaf Doc used to run it.
Now, is he the one that drowned?
Right . . He the one got drowned .
Did he falloff that ferry?
I don I t know if he fell off the thing or how
it happened . \